A majority of the population of India depends on
agriculture. As a result, most of the festivals are also related to the
agricultural activities of the people. These festivals are celebrated with
different names and rituals in almost all the states of India. Pongal is
an important festival of Tamil Nadu, which is
celebrated to mark the withdrawal of the Southeast monsoons as well as the
reaping of the harvest. It falls in the month Thai and is strictly a rural
festival.

The
Legend Behind The Celebrations
There are few interesting legends behind the Pongal celebrations. The
most popular among them related to the celebrations of the first day of
the Pongal festival goes like this - Lord Krishna lifted the Govardhan
Mountain on his little finger to shelter his people and save them from
being washed away by the rains and floods.

According to another the third day of Pongal is celebrated because Lord
Shiva once asked Nandi, his bull, to go to earth and deliver his message
to the people - to have an oil bath every day and food once a month. But
Nandi got it all mixed up when he delivered the message, and told the
people that Shiva asked them to have an oil bath once a month and eat
every day. Shiva was displeased, and told Nandi that since the people
would now need to grow more grain, Nandi would have to remain on earth and
help them plough the fields.

Mattu Pongal is also called "Kanu Pongal", and women pray for
the welfare of their brothers. This is similar to the festivals of Raksha
Bandhan and Bhai Dooj celebrated in some states of North India.

About The Festival
The festival is celebrated for four days and the celebrations on the
first day of the Tamil month Thai and continues for the three days. The
month of Thai is supposed to be very auspicious for every kind of
activity. The Sun is worshipped for his rays are responsible for the life
on earth.

It
is the biggest harvest festival, spread over four days. 'Bhogi' is
celebrated on January 13, 'Pongal' on January 14, 'Mattu Pongal' on
January 15, and 'Thiruvalluvar Day' on January 16. Thiruvalluvar has done
a great contribution to Tamil literature with 'Thirukkural'. There are
1,330 verses in this work and they talk about all aspects of life.

In fact, the name of the festival is derived from Pongal, a rice pudding
made from freshly harvested rice, milk and jaggery. The first day, "Bhogi
Pongal", is a day for the family. "Surya Pongal", the
second day, is dedicated to the worship of Surya, the Sun God. The third
day of Pongal, "Mattu Pongal", is for the worship of the cattle.

Cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colours,
and garlands of flowers placed around their necks. Pongal is associated
with cleaning and burning of rubbish, symbolizing the destruction of evil.

All the four days of Pongal have there own individual significance. On
the first day, delicious preparations are made and homes are washed and
decorated. Doorways are painted with vermilion and sandalwood paste with
colourful garlands of leaves and flowers decorating the outside of almost
every home. On this day 'Bhogi' or the Rain God is worshipped.

Rituals FollowedA
typical traditional Pongal celebration has a number of rituals attached to
it. The place where the Pongal Puja is to be conducted is cleaned and
smeared with dung, a day prior to the festival. People generally choose an
open courtyard for this purpose.

'Kolams' (Rangoli) generally drawn with rice flour are special to the
occasion. The idea behind using rice flour is that the insects would feed
on it and bless the household. At the centre of it a lump of cow dung
holds a five-petal pumpkin flower, which is regarded as a symbol of
fertility and an offering of love to the presiding deity. In a similar way
the houses are also cleaned, painted and decorated.
Kolams (Rangoli) are
made in the front yards of the houses and new clothes for the whole family
are bought to mark the festivities. Even the cattle are gaily caparisoned
with beads, bells and flowers-their horns painted and capped with gleaming
metals.

The Tempting Recipes
Sweet rice, known as "Pongal", is cooked in a new earthenware
pot at the same place where puja is to be performed. Fresh turmeric and
ginger are tied around this pot. Then a delicious concoction of rice,
Moong Dal, jaggery and milk are boiled in the pot on an open fire. This
Pongal, according to ritual, is allowed to boil and spill out of the pot.
Pongal, once ready, is offered to God first, on a new banana leaf along
with other traditional delicacies like Vadas, Payasam, etc. Besides this,
sugarcane, grain, sweet potatoes, etc are also offered to the Sun God.

Processions
A procession is taken out from the Kandaswamy (also spelt as Kandaswami)
Temple in Chennai. In
Madurai,
Tanjore and
Tiruchirrapalli, where
Pongal is known as Jellikattu, bundles of money are tied to the horns of
bulls, and villagers try and wrest the bundles from them. Community meals
are made from the freshly gathered harvest and enjoyed by the entire
village.